Designated the RT80r class, the tugs for Bugsier meet the requirements of Germanischer Lloyd Hull +100 A5 M (TUG) Machinery +MC AUT FF1 for operation under the German flag. All three vessels are being completed to the highest standards and will be very well equipped.

The remaining pair, Bugsier 4 and Bugsier 5 are expected to leave the ASL shipyard during April and May. Bugsier 6 measures 28.30m in length overall, with a beam of 12.00m, and a maximum draft of 5.95m.

Three Wartsila 8L20C engines generating a total of 6,480bhp drive three fully azimuthing Wartsila-Lips CS225-S/WN-K 2300 propulsion units incorporating controllable pitch propellers and high performance HR nozzles. This arrangement gives the tug a bollard pull of 80 tons and a free running speed of 12 knots.

Not only does the rotor tug propulsion system afford exceptional manoeuvrability, it enables the vessel to apply its full bollard pull in almost any direction. Towing winches are fitted fore and aft, along with a comprehensive outfit of deck equipment. All three tugs will be equipped for fire fighting to FiFi 1 standards.

On confirming the purchase of rotor tugs in 2007, Mr J W Schuchmann, managing director of Bugsier said, 'It was a straightforward business decision based on availability, performance and price. We needed tugs and these vessels were already under construction in Singapore. We have a particular need for tugs with 80 tons bollard pull to serve the new classes of containership and believe that the shallow draft of the Rotor Tug and its performance in the lock systems are beneficial.'

Competition between Kotug and the German towage companies in Bremerhaven and Hamburg has been fierce and in 1999 Kotug introduced the first rotor tugs to the German port of Bremerhaven. The ‘rotor tug’ concept has grown enormously in very recent years and KST now have a range of designs available including a new escort version the RT 100E. At the time of writing the KST order book contains a total of 24 vessels and includes four RT80r tugs for German operator URAG and one for Libya. It is hoped that a full account of the Bugsier Rotor Tugs will be possible at a later date.